In conversations with New Orleans Saints coaches and front-office personnel throughout the past week, one name seems to be coming up again and again -- Stanley Arnoux.

Ted Jackson/The Times-PicayuneThe New Orleans Saints' Jonathan Casillas is having a good camp.

This was supposed to be a "redshirt freshman" season for Arnoux, a second-year linebacker who missed the entire 2009 season after tearing his Achilles tendon on the first day of rookie minicamp. But Arnoux, a fourth-round draft pick from Wake Forest, is looking more like a player who could contribute early on special teams and as a situational backup.

"I'm having a great time," said Arnoux, who said he has no complaints about the heat and humidity and long days. "It's a lot better than being stuck inside."

Arnoux (6 feet, 232 pounds) is still working as the third-team weakside linebacker.

And the guy in front of him -- second-year linebacker Jonathan Casillas -- is another young player who has received praise for his development this offseason.

But the Saints have been rotating their linebackers quite a bit in camp, and Casillas and Arnoux have taken advantage of extra practice snaps while starter Scott Shanle has been out with a knee injury the past few days.

On Thursday afternoon, Casillas sacked quarterback Drew Brees on a blitz during the first-string two-minute drill. Then Arnoux followed with a sack on a blitz with the second team against quarterback Patrick Ramsey.

Earlier this week, Arnoux forced a fumble when he hit tailback P.J. Hill. On Friday, Arnoux was at it again, leveling fullback Zak Keasey to break up a pass.

"I'm just out here trying to get better every day," Arnoux said. "As long as I'm fixing something every day, that's the kind of camp I want to have."

PORTER RETURNS: Cornerback Tracy Porter returned to practice Friday after being sidelined by back spasms the previous two days. He made his presence felt, intercepting a Brees pass in team drills in the morning, then making impressive breakups against Pierre Thomas and Lance Moore in the afternoon.

Porter's pickoff was believed to be the first interception thrown by Brees during team drills in camp this year. Porter stepped in front of receiver Courtney Roby to snag the ball, then ran untouched toward the end zone. The play was reminiscent of his game-clinching interception of Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning in Super Bowl XLIV.

"Drew's a great quarterback. It's always tough to try to pick him off. So you just hope that once you get him, you can keep it rolling," said Porter.

Porter said the back spasms were nothing serious. "Just something that comes with the wear and tear of training camp," he said.

Tight end Tory Humphrey (hamstring) and defensive end Jimmy Wilkerson (knee) also returned to practice Friday.

BRADLEY ARRIVES: General Manager Mickey Loomis said the signing of veteran receiver Mark Bradley had nothing to do with any concerns about Meachem's toe injury. Loomis said receiver is just one of those positions where you can never have enough depth. And the Saints liked what they saw in Bradley during his workout Thursday, so they figured he was "better than the last guy on our roster."

The Saints released receiver Matt Simon to make room for Bradley.

"Receivers and running backs are two positions where you get some injuries . . . and you never know what's going to happen through the course of a season," said Loomis, who also said he liked what he saw from the Thursday workout of veteran tailback Ladell Betts, although the Saints did not sign Betts.

"You just want to know what's out there; you want to know what kind of condition guys are in," Loomis said.

Bradley, 28, most recently played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers before being released in June. A former second-round pick out of Oklahoma,he has spent five seasons with Chicago, Kansas City and Tampa Bay. Bradley, 6 feet 1, 210 pounds, has 92 catches for 1,293 yards and nine touchdowns.

"It's something where they think I've still got something left in me, and I think I've still got something left in me, too," said Bradley, who said he had other visits in the works but didn't want to pass up on an opportunity to join the Super Bowl champions.

He also said he likes the way quarterback Drew Brees spreads the ball around to so many different receivers in the Saints' deep offense.

HORNETS VISIT: Hornets Coach Monty Williams and President Hugh Weber were guests at Saints camp Friday morning, along with some of their children and other team employees.

Williams, who met briefly with the media during practice, said he used to dream of playing in the NFL and was an "all right" receiver growing up. "But I was too skinny, and they hit too hard," said the lanky 6-foot-8 coach, who went on to a pretty good career in basketball.

Williams, who was hired in June to coach the Hornets, said he hadn't met Saints Coach Sean Payton, but mutual acquaintance Avery Johnson suggested they should get to know each other.

"This is what we want. This is where we want to be," Williams said of the Saints' level of success and their fan reception.

Williams said he even gleaned some ideas from watching the Saints run drills and from touring the facility, filled with motivational slogans on the walls.

"I like to be around excellence, and they've done it right here. And we plan on doing the same thing," said Williams, who repeatedly stressed his favorite mantra, that the Hornets "can't skip steps."

TODAY'S SCRIMMAGE: The Saints won't do any live tackling during today's scrimmage, which is scheduled for 11 a.m. and open to the public, weather-permitting. Payton said the format will be "full-go, up," which means the offense and defense will play at full speed, but players won't be tackled to the ground.

Payton said he envisions nine possessions (three each for the first, second and third team), with special teams being mixed in throughout the day. He said Brees might be done early, giving backup quarterbacks Patrick Ramsey, Chase Daniel and Sean Canfield a chance at more snaps.

The scrimmage was scheduled for 2:50 p.m., but Payton said the team decided to move it up to escape some of the more intense heat. Payton lightened the workload for his team Friday, as well, in anticipation of today's higher-intensity session. The team didn't wear full pads for either practice, and the outdoor session in the morning was cut short by about 45 minutes.

MAN OF THE PEOPLE: Payton used the extra time to mingle with the fans for more than 30 minutes after practice, signing autographs and chatting it up.

"It's hot out here, and a lot of those people have been waiting," Payton said. "We were trying to make sure that we got everyone covered."

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Mike Triplett can be reached at mtriplett@timespicayune.com or 504.826.3405.